Columbus moved to COVID-19 yellow zone, latest White House task force report says
The White House coronavirus task force has removed both Muscogee County and the larger Columbus metro area from its list of COVID-19 red zones in Georgia.
While task force officials acknowledge Georgia has made statewide progress in its efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19, the state reported 167 new cases per 100,000 people — the second-highest rate in the country last week.
The report, provided to the Ledger-Enquirer by the Georgia Department of Public Health, provides policy recommendations to local and state officials and assesses the current status of the pandemic.
“Georgia is making progress and has seen a decrease in new cases and a decrease in test positivity over the last week, but these improvements need to accelerate,” the report reads.
What is the White House saying about Columbus? What is the latest data?
Muscogee County’s coronavirus test positivity rate during the week of Aug. 15-21 fell below 10%, moving the county from the red zone to the yellow zone. However, Muscogee still reported more than 100 cases per 100,000 people, meaning its case rate is still in the red zone.
Fifty-four counties and 17 metro areas in Georgia are in the yellow zone. Eighty-two counties and 21 metro areas remain in the red zone.
Some of the recommendations for residents and public officials in yellow zone counties include:
- Wear a mask at all times outside the home and maintain physical distance.
- Limit social gatherings to 25 people or fewer.
- Use take out, outdoor dining or indoor dining when strict social distancing can be maintained.
- Protect anyone with serious medical conditions at home by social distancing at home and using high levels of personal hygiene.
- Reduce your public interactions and activities to 50% of your normal activity.
- Limit gyms to 25% occupancy and close bars until percent positive rates are under 3%; create outdoor dining opportunities with pedestrian areas.
Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson issued an emergency order Friday that mandates the use of masks or face coverings in public when social distancing is not possible, and allows exemptions for businesses who do not want the order to be enforced on their property. Residents who fail to follow the order can face a $50 fine.
From mid-July through early August, the Columbus metro area ranked fourth highest in the state for the number of newly reported coronavirus cases among red zone areas, behind only Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Augusta-Richmond County, and Savannah. During the same period, Muscogee ranked fifth highest for new COVID-19 cases among red zone counties, behind only Chatham, Richmond, Hall and Clayton, according to a previous coronavirus task force report dated Aug. 9.
According to the latest data from the Georgia Department of Public Health, Muscogee County reported 26 new cases and three new deaths Tuesday. A total of 5,330 coronavirus cases and 125 deaths in Columbus have been confirmed since the start of the pandemic.
On Tuesday, 311 viral tests were reported, and Muscogee County’s test positivity rate for the past two weeks is 9.2%. Since the start of the pandemic, 11.4% of Muscogee County’s tests have been positive. The World Health Organization’s recommended test positivity percentage is 5% or less to properly track outbreaks and locate milder cases of the disease.
The Georgia Geospatial Information Office, using data provided by the Georgia Department of Public Health, breaks down the county’s cases and deaths by age, sex, race and ethnicity.
According to the data, adults ages 25 to 34 account for 1,113 (about 21%) of Columbus’ cases. That is the largest portion. Female residents account for 3,018 (57%) of the county’s cases. Black residents account for 2,185 (41%) of Columbus’ cases, while the race of 1,729 (about 32%) of the county’s cases is unknown.
People ages 65-74 account for the largest portion of COVID-19 deaths in Muscogee County — 39 deaths (31%). Female residents account for the largest portion of deaths with 69 (55%) overall. Black residents account for 68 (54%) of the county’s coronavirus deaths.
Near Columbus, Chattahoochee County reported 36 new cases Monday, bringing its total to 978. The county has two coronavirus-related deaths. No new deaths were reported. Chattahoochee County (9,098.52) has the highest number of cases per 100,000 people in Georgia.
What is the White House saying about Georgia? What is the latest data?
Georgia remains in the red zone for cases with 167 per 100,000 people, but its test positivity rate is 9.0% — inside the yellow zone.
Georgia reported a total of 17,742 cases last week, a 22.5% decline from the week before.
Task force members offered state officials several recommendations, including a statewide mask mandate for “counties with 20 or more active cases to ensure consistent mask usage, as improvements remain fragile.”
The report states 52% of Georgia’s counties have high levels of community transmission. For the first time in the report, there was a decrease in the number of counties in the red zone, from 109 to 82 counties.
This newest report comes after Georgia reported the most new cases per 100,000 people in the country during the week of Aug. 8-14.
A copy of the report can be latest found below
Here’s the latest data from the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Tuesday update:
Cases: 258,354 (+2,236 reported today). The number of new cases reported in a day may not match the difference in total cases over a 24-hour period. This occurs because previously reported cases may be removed as duplicate reports are corrected. An older confirmed case may also be reclassified as additional information is collected during an investigation.
Georgia reported 2,873 coronavirus cases a week ago on Aug. 18, and 3,563 coronavirus cases two weeks ago on Aug. 11.
Deaths: 5,262 (+107 deaths in 24 hours). It’s important to note that these numbers indicate when deaths are reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health. It does not reflect when these deaths occurred.
Tests: Georgia reported 270,000 total antibody tests and 2,230,850 total viral tests (+25,669 viral tests in 24 hours). These totals don’t account for tests that are not reported through the state’s electronic lab reporting system.
Current COVID hospitalizations: 2,260. That’s a decrease of 90 patients in 24 hours. The count includes any patient in a Georgia hospital who has tested positive for COVID-19 at the time of the report. This count does not include patients who are being investigated for possible infection by health officials.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 4:23 PM.